School's on

Entering week 3 of Semester 6, all looks well. The lineup for this semester:

CIS 4800: Graphics
CIS 4650: Compilers
CIS 3120: Digital Systems
PHIL 2100: Critical Thinking
PHIL 2370: Introduction to Metaphysics

The rundown for each of them:

Graphics

OpenGL and its associated helper libraries - pushing and popping matrices and gluing together random bits of code to make a game called Qix(beware the audio!), which is rather fun to play.

Compilers

Constructing a compiler to translate a Pascal-ish language (termed Pish) into MIPS Assembly. We're starting with DFAs and simplistic ideas of scanning, then walking forward through parsing, generating meaningful symbol tables, abstract syntax trees, intermediate code, register allocation, and machine code generation. It should be an awesome project to get through.

Digital Systems

Starting with CMOS networks of transistors to build basic gates and then gluing gates together to make a half-adder, then a simple 8 bit ALU, then a CPU with a data and control path. We'll be seeing the theoretical and practical side of digital design - touching on minimization of boolean expressions, hazard detection and reduction, designing for cost/speed/safety, and some neat things at the end about FPGAs and such.

Critical Thinking

A lot of hullabaloo about arguments. This is a course about using, identifying, and thinking about people's arguments in day to day life and an academic context. It's really the english half of symbolic logic (conversely the math half), which I took over a year ago. I'd better do pretty damn well in it.

Intro to Metaphysics

We read a bunch of old stuff and discuss it with the prof, basically. Good reading, good discussion, all about foundational and arguably (oh so arguable!) useless topics like identity, time, the structure of universe, and the nature of reality. Some smart people in there.

Also going to put my name in the hat for B. Comp Senator again, and.. yeah. Good semester, I think. (And hope.) (And a democamp this week! I will try to go!)